VAW-12 Newsletter February 2007
Website: www.vc12vaw12.org
All the old newsletters;
for members list: www.vc12vaw12.org/members/members.html
Chairman: Richard Bray 765 Hosmer Rd Churchville, NY 14428 585-538-4252 Cell: 585-576-0595 leighbray@hotmail.com
Past Chairman: Edward Seykowski 607 N 70 E Valparaiso, IN 46383 219-462-3636 edseykow@juno.com FAX 219-462-2168
Treasurer, Scribe, & Membership Chairman for dues:
Roger G. Smith, MD Office: 256 SE 2nd Av. Hillsboro, OR 97123
503-628-2229 home; Office 503-648-4171; FAX 503-648-4172 rgs@coho.net
VC-12 VAW-12 Reunion September 6-9 2007
John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks, NEVADA (A mile from the Reno airport)
Reservations 1-800-648-1177 Tell them you are with Tailhook to get the rate for the convention. You can reserve online at Website www.januggett.com Rate is $97 per night double occupancy.
The hotel has 1600 rooms and they will all be reserved for that weekend before midsummer
The Air Races are the following weekend. You can stay on if you wish.
IMPORTANT
Make your reservation with the hotel and then with us additionally by contacting Dick Bray leighbray@hotmail.com or 585-576-0595 765 Hosmer Rd Churchville, NY 14428
We will make no charge this year, since the registration with Tailhook will cover the charges we usually have to charge for. We will likely have a small charge for incidentals to stock the ready room and for individually ordered nametags. Our treasury will cover administrative costs.
To participate in the Tailhook events you need to register with Tailhook
thookassn@aol.com 1-800-322-4665
Everyone will have to sign up as a member of Tailhook. The difference between a regular membership vs. an associate membership: If you have had an arrested carrier landing of any kind (pilot, aircrew and even via a COD) you qualify for a regular membership. All others will have to sign up for an associate membership. Membership is $40. per year and the magazine itself is worth it.
Sign up for the Bug Roach event Friday night and the banquet Saturday night and anything else you choose to do. They do trips to Lake Tahoe and Top Gun at NAS Fallon and golf. Virginia City is a tour you shouldn’t miss if you’ve never seen the silver mines that financed the Civil War.
Bug Roach was a charismatic LCDR LSO who was killed in an airplane accident. They have this jam packed event named for him where you patrol all over the convention floor eating and drinking and seeing the displays for several hours. You can play navy games like virtual carrier landings, virtual LSO work, and see all the latest technology being served up to the new navy and talk to dozens of active duty guys there in their flight suits. You can wear your old flight jacket. There are lots of colorful flight jackets on display and lots of active duty guys. There has been no sexual misbehavior since the 1991 “scandal.” That, of course, was limited to some active duty jocks in private parties elsewhere in the hotel in Las Vegas that year.
This year you have to do 3 things:
Dues for our reunion group are $10 a year for those who get the newsletter by post. The new year starts at the reunion. Send in your dues now or e-mail me for a status report on your account.
Many who get the newsletter by e-mail offer dues and we are grateful. We send e-mail newsletter to all who wish to see it regardless.
We are 1675 members and about 600 known deceased members. There are a lot of people we have not found. We know some names, but there are many unknowns.
If you want to help me work on the unknowns I will send you the list.
We have listed groups by detachments. Send me your request and I'll share your detachment list with you so you can contact the guys you want to meet at reunion. Tell us who you remember and let us help you find him/them. We have too many new contacts since the reunion to list them all. We have many incomplete detachment rosters. Send for yours and help me complete the lists. I call a lot of guys who have no interest, but if their old buddies call them, that may be a different matter. Our membership continues to grow. We have found people through the Navy Memorial Foundation and Military.Com.
People who send me old newsletters from the squadron and old orders, social notes, watch bills, cruise book lists and rapid recall bills have been very helpful.
Every once in a while I find a new member referred from a member who recalls where his old buddy is now.
Surprisingly few men that I have heard of have taken the roster of their cruise and made calls to old friends. That is another way to improve the list. Many of those rosters have names with incomplete addresses. Studying them may yield clues to where they may be now—wives names, birthdates or birth years, hometowns etc may be very helpful in finding men with more common names.
VAW-12 Books at the VAW Store
We have copies of GUPPY PILOT at $27.50 each post paid. This is a book written by Roger Smith about squadron flying. His address is 256 SE 2nd Av Hillsboro, OR 97123. 80 color photos and some others. Naval history, sea stories, personal reminiscence. A very few left.
We do not have copies of SAILORS IN THE SKY by Jack Sauter, but inscribed copies can be purchased from him directly for $19.95 at 235 Robby Lane, New Hyde Park, NY 11040. This is an enlisted aircrewman’s view of the Korean War from the back seat of an AD3W operating off the Lake Champlain. Jack is the president and editor of the magazine for that ship’s reunion group to this day
HANOI COMMITMENT the story of 7 years a prisoner of the North Viets. Purchase from the author for $15. plus postage. CAPT James A. Mulligan 912 Five Points Rd Virginia Beach, VA 23454-2642
20 WAS EASY by Harry Mead is available for $8.95 plus postage by writing to the author at 38 N Alder Drive, Orlando, FL 32807-5030. There is a chapter about VAW-12
VAW-12 Patches on sale for $5 for dues paying members and $8 for those not paying dues. Write to editor (Roger Smith) 256 SE 2nd Av. Hillsboro, OR 97123
NFO wings are still available at $50.
From the vote at the 2006 Reunion we tentatively penciled in Charleston, SC for 2008 Reunion.
Past reunions:
1997 Newport 26 members; 17 guests total 43
1999 Pensacola 29 21 50
2000 Norfolk 21 14 35
2001 Charleston 16 11 27
2002 Newport 31 21 52 After which we started to really build membership
2003 Annapolis 40 26 66
2004 Gettysburg 43 21 74 hurricane retreat #1
2005 Fort Walton 43 29 72 hurricane retreat #2
2006 Washington 46 35 81
VAW-11
VAW-11 will hold its next reunion October 9-12, 2008 in San Diego. The date is firm.
But it’s 2 years away. They are on an every 3 years cycle. They include all VAW people including the active duty guys now. They naturally are predominately a West Coast membership. There is some small overlap with our people. We are entirely welcome to attend.
Models:
I have been asked where to get a good model of the Airplane we flew. The best seems to be Edward H. Biltmore’s EHB Precision Modelworks. They had a booth at Tailhook this year and their displays were exceptional. They are pricey though. They will customize paint and decorate to match photos you send them of what your airplane looked like.
www.warplanes.com & www.pacificaircraft.com or 800-950-9944 for a catalogue.
Hats and jackets:
Our former reunion planner, Military Locator and Reunion Services, Inc may still have some VAW-12 hats, shirts and jackets Military Locator and Reunion Services, Inc PO Drawer 11399 Hickory, NC 28603 dinaMLRS@charterinternet.com 828-256-6008
Burgees for Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers:
Recently, I had manufactured some thirty 12" X 18" pennants that were ordered by the same number of interested Naval Aviators I had contacted through the Crusader Association. In my correspondence with them, some wondered why the Museum of Naval Aviation and/or Navy Exchanges didn't carry something like this. So, I had them made myself. They are of high quality material with the wings emblem embroidered in three colors. Naval Flight Officer wings are also available, and a red background is available for Marines. They'll look great flying from your boat, from your flag pole, or maybe on your "I LOVE ME" wall.
This started out as my wanting some kind of Naval Aviation pennant for my boat, then mushroomed somewhat when I mentioned my intentions to other Naval Aviators on my mailing list. I went to work on it, and am very pleased with the final product.
I'm now emailing this to other Naval Aviators and Flight Officers to see if there is additional interest. The pennants would be priced at $65 each. I'll eat the postage and handling. If you'd like to order one or more, advise what type of wings and background color along with a shipping address. E-mail me if interested, and I can e-mail you photos in color or send a check to: Nick Nickerson ceilingzero@cfl.rr.com
2240 Front St. #302 Melbourne, FL 32901 Tel: 321 373 4452 Cell: 772 485 5502
Captain James F. “Speedy” Rigg, USN, Retired, Navy Cross 5th CO VC-12 1953-5 ( now deceased) was born in Saginaw, MI and attended architecture school at U. Michigan and took a contract law course at U. Virginia before joining the navy. He died in East Greenwich, RI in April 2000. It was my privilege to serve under his command and to visit him after our reunion at Newport in 1999. This is his story as published in the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation magazine in the Fall of 1997:
“I received my wings of gold in December 1938. As an aviation cadet (AVCAD) I had to fulfill my contract with the navy for three more years and operate with the fleet. I would then be free to go out into the world and, I hoped, become an airline pilot, making a bundle of money.
I was ordered to VF-2 on the West Coast. It was the famous Fighting Chiefs fighter squadron flying F2F-1s with metal fuselages and fabric covered wings. Each of the three plane sections was led by an officer, but the wingmen were chief aviation pilots. We AVCADS gained considerable experience flying with these senior enlisted men. We also learned how to play and frequently win that old Navy game, acey-deucy.
Those were the days when the air group commander would bring the entire air group in for a formation landing. Even though the San Diego airfield was a large circular mat with plenty of room to land, it was a hairy operation. The pilots at the tail end of the formation had a dickens of a time maintaining formation and not stalling. Most of the planes were just hanging on the prop.
One day I decided to find the maximum altitude the F2F could reach. The oxygen equipment consisted of a tank with a rubber hose. Attached to the hose was a wooden pipe stem the pilot could stick in his mouth and suck in oxygen. As I reached 22,000 feet the stem fell out of my mouth. While I was groping around in the cockpit to find it, I noticed the instruments appeared fuzzy. I had just enough sense to realize that anoxia was setting in, so while still at full throttle I dove straight down. When I recovered enough to get my wits together I pulled out of the dive, but I was uncomfortably close to the ground. I was later told that one of the chief aviation pilots who witnessed my descent and recovery wondered what that crazy AVCAD was doing.
I was commissioned an ensign in July 1939 and transferred to the regular navy in April 1941. I became an ensign USN 1310, an aviator designation. I was now in the navy for the long run. At the same time I was ordered to VF-7 and became part of the air group attached to USS Wasp (CV-7) based at Norfolk, VA and commanded by CAPT John W. “Blackjack” Reeves, Jr., a crusty sea dog. We were equipped with F2F-1s also and based at a small grass field named West Field near the supply warehouses and the carrier piers at Norfolk.
Returning to the field from a tactics flight, I was flying on the XO’s right wing. We approached for a southerly landing much too fast, and I saw I was staring at the tall trees bordering the southern edge of the field. They looked too close, and I was going too fast; so I aborted the landing, two blocked the throttle and took off, barely clearing the treetops. After I finally landed my plane captain, Joe Zitella, approached the cockpit and presented me with a lily.
Later we received new airplanes, F3F-1s that were not much better than the F2F-1s except they were equipped a .50 cal. gun supplementing the .30 cal. gun and had a slightly larger fuselage. They were uncomfortable when flying in cold winter weather while wearing the bulky green winter flight suit and when attempting to use the relief tube while flying in formation.
One day as civilian representing Col Claire Chennault who wanted pilots to form a squadron in China visited VF-7. The pilots would fly P-40s and fight for the Chinese against the Japanese. The pay was good, and a few of our pilots accepted. I, however, was a family man and enjoyed what I was doing, so I didn’t volunteer. One pilot who did accept was the late Jim “China boy” Howard. After his tour with Chennault’s Flying Tigers, he joined the Army Air forces, rising to the rank of brigadier general and receiving the Medal of Honor for his exemplary war record in the European theater.
Wasp sailed to Bermuda in late 1940 and anchored in Hamilton Harbour. While there we had company with HMS Despatch personnel who were on R&R. My roommate, Claude Phillips, and I made friends with some of their officers and invited one of them, the chief engineer, to dinner in our wardroom. He reciprocated by inviting us to his ship the following day and sent a boat for us. The chief was a wonderful host. Despatch, completed in 1922 was an old cruiser of 4850 tons. Conditions aboard his ship were somewhat primitive since the British were existing on wartime provisions. The head, in a small compartment on the main deck, was a bucket with a can of seawater. The crew had very little meat, fruit, fresh vegetables, and whatever else was obtainable at Hamilton then. They were amazed at our comparatively lavish lifestyle and our ultraclean ship. The British were a sturdy bunch.
Our captain had planned a fire drill on the carrier one morning. While I was in the after part of the port catwalk I saw a sailor place a smoking bucket under the wing of one of our planes. The evaporation of the dry ice and the resultant “smoke” in the bucket made the fire appear realistic. I looked up at the open bridge and could see the captain looking around waiting for someone to report the fire. I, of course, was keeping a low profile. Another sailor arrived on the flight deck, saw the fire, and immediately threw the smoking bucket overboard, ending the drill. I was later told conditions in the pilothouse were quite tense for a while.
Wasp was operating in the Atlantic on a classified mission, looking for a German pocket battleship that was giving British shipping considerable grief. If we saw the battleship, its position was to be reported to the Royal Navy. We were not yet at war, so it was a ticklish situation. Pilots were sent out to make regular triangular searches of the area, but we found nothing. Complete radio silence prevailed. After returning to Point Option for recovery, we discovered no carrier. Since I was the section leader, I started a square search of the area but had no luck. One of my wingmen wanted to take over the search, so I let him have the lead. We were getting low on fuel so I resumed the lead and commenced another square search. I thought if I could find a ship—any ship—including the German one, I would happily land alongside it to be rescued. After all we were a neutral nation. After seeing what I thought was smoke on the horizon, I headed toward it. We were so low on fuel I thought the engine was running on fumes. We were happy to see that the light smoke was coming from our carrier. She immediately came into the wind and we landed aboard. The last pilot didn’t even have to throttle back. When he got the “cut” signal, his engine quit. Checking with our flight officer, Courtney Shands, regarding my navigation shown on the chart board, I was told to forget it as the captain had made a diversion and could not communicate with us because of the radio silence.
In 1940 our squadron conducted operations in the North Atlantic. I was the No. 2 man flying on the skipper’s left wing. Returning to the carrier, our skipper approached the landing circle in a diving left turn, throttled back and cranked down the wheels and hook. Being on the inside, I had to do the same thing while maintaining formation, but I couldn’t get the tailhook lowered. I got the OK to leave the formation and gain some altitude to see what I could do about this predicament. I could not get the crank to engage the hook. I tried to shake the plane with gusto, and I even unfastened my seat belt and jumped on the handle, although to no avail. Finally, the ship couldn’t wait any longer, and I was told to land in the water in front of the plane guard. I didn’t like that at all, so I asked if I could try landing aboard. I received an OK and made a “roger” approach all the way. When I thought I was going to get a “cut,” I got a wave off. I asked what the trouble was. They reported to me they wanted to see what my reaction would be. So I was allowed to try again and did get a “cut.” I immediately cut the throttle and mixture and landed with the brake fully applied. When the tail came up I eased off the brakes, but continued using them on and off until the plane came to a stop. One of the prop blades stopped barely touching the barrier wire, but no damage was done. I was a lucky fellow.
That evening in the wardroom, having completed dinner, the ship’s band paraded and stopped in back of me. I didn’t know what was going on until I was presented with a cake. On the cake was written in icing, “Hookless but not Headless, Ensign Rigg.” It wasn’t actually a cake, but a box of cigars from the ship’s captain.
Every evening the CO and his XO, CDR Sallada, would take a stroll around the forward part of the hangar deck. I waited until they parted, and then I went to the captain and told him who I was, thanking him for the cigars. His response was, “Rigg, don’t you ever do that again.”
In December 1941 I was ordered to NAS Jacksonville for duty. But when I reported to the staff administrative officer, he told me there was no such thing as an ensign 1310 USN, and I told him to reread my orders. He was perplexed and took me to the chief of staff who said there was no such person with my qualifications. I was then taken to see the admiral who lamented, “What’s the Navy coming to?” He immediately called the Bureau of personnel and got the word on me. We were rarities then.
After an interesting and enjoyable tour as flight instructor at NAS Cecil Field, I went on to Chicago, reporting to the CO of USS Wolverine (IX-64) based at the Navy Pier. She was a coal-burning paddle wheel aircraft carrier operating on Lake Michigan for carrier qualification of new carrier pilots. It had a speed of almost 20 knots, which I thought was pretty good for the old lady. But that’s a story for another day.”
For an account of Captain Rigg’s further career as one McCampbell’s fighters and eventually CO of VF-15 aboard the Essex in 1944-5, read McCampbell’s Heroes by Edwin P. Hoyt. After the war he served as air group training officer on the staff of Commander, Air force, Pacific fleet and in 1949 as Operations officer at NAS Port Lyautey, French Morocco, and XO US Naval School, All Weather Flight, NAS Corpus Christi, TX before becoming CO of VC-12. He was later XO USS Tarawa.